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At a time when governmental support for fair
housing enforcement has neared an all-time low, housing discrimination is
on the rise, according to local civil rights organization Housing
Opportunities Made Equal. The City of Buffalo, at the heart of the
seventh most segregated area in the nation, last year reduced funding by
82 percent for the only agency to provide comprehensive services for
victims of housing discrimination. That same year, HOME recorded an
increase of 25 percent in reported incidents of housing discrimination
within the City of Buffalo.
In 2004, HOME received 236 reports of
discrimination in the greater Buffalo area. The highest increase was found
in the number of reports of racial bias which rose 60 percent from last
year. Discrimination based on familial status (the presence of children
in a family) was the second most frequently reported followed closely by
discrimination on the basis of disability. Of the cases reported to HOME
last year, 27 were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) or the New York State Division of Human Rights, or
referred to cooperating attorneys for action in state or federal court. An
additional 46 cases were successfully conciliated prior to legal action.
State and federal laws prohibit denial of
housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, military status, age, marital status, disability, or the
presence of children in a family. Some local laws also prohibit housing
discrimination on the basis of lawful source of income and gender identity
or expression.
In all, HOME handled a total of 5,211
requests for service in 2004. These calls came from victims of housing
discrimination, landlords and tenants seeking paralegal advice to help
resolve disputes, families seeking to expand their housing choices, and
from human service, housing, and government organizations seeking
technical assistance about fair housing matters. The agency reached an
additional 5,180 people through educational presentations. |
